iSmartOffGrid Individual Unit Monitoring

Upper-computer Monitoring &

Management Software

Operating Manual
 Contents
iSmartoff Grid Individual Unit Monitoring ............................................................. 1

Upper-computer Monitoring & Management Software.......................................... 1

Operating Manual ....................................................................................................... 1

Preface .......................................................................................................................... 1
Section I. Brief description ................................................................................................................................... 1
Section II. Function .............................................................................................................................................. 1
Section III. System requirement ........................................................................................................................... 1
Section IV. Supported operating system ............................................................................................................... 1

Chapter I. Installation and unloading of iSmartOffGrid individual unit

monitoring software .................................................................................................... 2

Section I. Hardware installation............................................................................................................................ 2
1.1 RS-232 /RS-485 serial communication .................................................................................................. 2
1.2 USB communication ............................................................................................................................... 2
Section II. Installation of iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring software .................................................... 2
Section III. Starting iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring software ............................................................. 5
Section IV. Unloading of iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring software .................................................... 6

Chapter II. Description of main interface display ................................................... 7

Chapter III. System operating procedure ................................................................. 8

Chapter IV. Menu toolbar .......................................................................................... 9

Section I. System module ............................................................................................................................. 9
1.1 System operation .................................................................................................................................... 9
1.1.1 Start communication ............................................................................................................................ 9
1.1.2 Cease communication .......................................................................................................................... 9
1.1.3 Parameter setting ................................................................................................................................. 9
1.1.4 Address inquiry .................................................................................................................................. 11
1.2 Interface information ............................................................................................................................ 13
1.3 Report information................................................................................................................................ 14
1.3.1 Data report information ..................................................................................................................... 14
1.3.2 Event report information .................................................................................................................... 20
Section II. Help information module .................................................................................................................. 22

Chapter V. Alert information bar ............................................................................ 23

Chapter VI. Main status display area ..................................................................... 24

Section I. Real-time data..................................................................................................................................... 24
1.1 AC information ..................................................................................................................................... 24
1.2 Real-time information ........................................................................................................................... 24
1.3 Specified information ........................................................................................................................... 25
1.4 Fault condition ...................................................................................................................................... 26
1.5 Equipment control ................................................................................................................................ 27
1.6 System setting ....................................................................................................................................... 28
1.7 Display table ......................................................................................................................................... 29
Section II. Real-time curve information ..................................................................................................... 30
Section III. Historical curve ........................................................................................................................ 31
Section IV. Historical data .......................................................................................................................... 31
Section V. Historical event .......................................................................................................................... 32
 Preface
Section I. Brief description
iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring software is a set of system software for upper-computer monitoring and
management, achieving real-time monitoring of lower-computer equipment via serial or USB. iSmartOffGrid, in
the form of data and diagram, displays the real-time status and information concerning the lower-computer, such
as input/output voltage, frequency, load, temperature and battery capacity, help users monitor working condition
of all machines. In addition, iSmartOffGrid can save the real-time data and status information concerning
lower-computer during operation, but also export or print according to the report information, facilitating user to
check the historical data and event. iSmartOffGrid is capable of directly controlling lower-computer to achieve
effective management of machine for users.

Section II. Function

Carry out real-time monitoring of data and status information of lower-computer, visually display the real-time
status information for parameters like the voltage, frequency, load and battery in the form of data and diagram,
thus helping users grasp the current working condition of equipment under monitoring.
Automatically detect the real-time status of parameters as well as the working conditions of equipment under
monitoring.
Operating interface is user-friendly, easy for installation and operation.

Section III. System requirement

1. Hardware requirement:
Computer system RS232 communication port (COM1～COM9) or USB port;
Above MS-Windows ® 98, 30M free disk space, computer memory above 64M, CPU above PII, and 15’ display.
2. Operating system:
Monitoring computer has to be equipped with Windows 98/NT/2000/Me/XP/2003/Vista operating system.
3. Software platform:
.NET FRAMEWORK 4.0 component; the component installation program shares the same folder with
iSmartOffGrid software installation program setup.exe.

Section IV. Supported operating system

 The software only supports Windows series operating system, applies to:
 Microsoft Windows XP
 Microsoft Windows 2003
 Microsoft Windows Vista
 Microsoft Windows 7
 Chapter I. Installation and unloading of iSmartOffGrid
individual unit monitoring software

Section I. Hardware installation

1.1 RS-232 /RS-485 serial communication
The male end of connecting line should be connected to the port of off-grid inverter.
The female end of connecting line should be connected to the system RS-232 communication port, if the system
has only 25PIN communication port, 9PIN can be used to connect with the 25PIN adaptor.

1.2 USB communication

Computer should be connected to off-grid inverter with specific USB data communication line.

Section II. Installation of iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring

software
Double click on setup.exe document in the disk to start the installation interface of iSmartOffGrid individual unit
monitoring software, select installation route as per the installation guidance and directly click on the next step to
complete installation. The procedure is detailed below:

1. Double click on setup.exe, click on the next step, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1
2. Select installation route, click on the next step, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2
3. Select the start menu folder, click on the next step, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3
4. Select if to create desktop icon, click on the next step, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4
5. Software is being installed, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5
6. Soft installation is completed, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6

Section III. Starting iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring

software
After installation, find software icon in the system start menu program bar or on the desktop, double click on the
program. The main program interface is as shown in Figure 7.
 Figure 7

When software fails to be started, please check if your computer is installed with .Net Framwork3.5 and .Net
Framework 4, if not, open them from Setup.exe folder and complete installation according to the prompt.

Section IV. Unloading of iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring

software
If need to unload the iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring software, select “Unloading of iSmartOffGrid
individual unit monitoring software” from the iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring software suite, click on
Confirm to complete cancellation.
Chapter II. Description of main interface display
Main interface will be shown as below after starting iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring software: user
interface of iSmartOffGrid individual unit monitoring software includes five sections, menu toolbar, display
content selection bar, equipment information visual area, alert prompt bar and status bar, as shown in Figure 8:

Menu toolbar

Equipment information
display area

Alert prompt bar

Status bar
Figure 8 Main program interface (serial port)
Chapter III. System operating procedure
The program, after started, will automatically search all ports available for monitoring computer, regard one port
as the default communication port, and load the default parameter of port for communication. Since the starting of
software, the menu toolbar will display that system is under communication status.
If successfully communicated, user can monitor the lower-computer and check the interested information without
having to set other configurations;
If failed to communicate, user should inspect the connection between monitoring computer and the equipment
under monitoring, if connection is correct, manually set the communication parameters, with procedures as shown
below:

Cease communication

See Parameter
Parameter setting Setting

Start communication

Figure 9 Manual setting of configuration parameter

 Chapter IV. Menu toolbar
Menu toolbar includes the system module and help information module.
Section I. System module
System module provides information about system operation, interface and report, as shown in Figure 10:

Figure 10 System menu toolbar

1.1 System operation
System operation toolbar is as shown in Figure 11:

Figure 11 System operation toolbar

1.1.1 Start communication

After clicking on “Start communication” button, system will communicate with the off-grid inverter of
lower-computer according to the set parameters (like the communication port number and Baud rate), the button
becomes unavailable, while “Cease communication” button becomes available.

1.1.2 Cease communication

After clicking on “Cease communication” button, system will crease the communication with lower-computer,
disconnect the database and clear all loaded information; meanwhile the button becomes unavailable, while “Start
communication” button becomes available.

1.1.3 Parameter setting

Parameter setting is mainly designed to set the information for communication port used by lower-computer. The
program, after being started, will automatically search for available ports for computer, when the number of
available port(s) is more than or equivalent to 1, the first searched port will be regarded as the default port. Under
“Start communication” status, the button is available for use, click on the button to set information for
communication port used by computer and lower-computer, as shown in Figure 12.
 Selection of
communication port

Figure 12 Parameter setting box

Advanced option: click on “Advanced option” button to complete some advanced settings for port, as shown in
Figure 13. The function may be unavailable since port parameters are normally the default parameters.

Figure 13 Advanced setting of port

Selection of port: select type of port, serial/USB.
Serial type:
Ordinary parameters:
1. Baud rate: selection of drop-down box: 1200,2400, 4800, 9600,14400 (Select 2400, off-grid inverter)
2. Data bit: selection of drop-down box: 7, 8 (Select 8, off-grid inverter)
3. Parity check: selection of drop-down box: None, Odd, Even, Mark, Space (Select None, off-grid inverter)
4. Stop bit: selection of drop-down box: None, One, Two, One Point Five (Select One, off-grid inverter)
5. Recycling waiting time: input any numbers, but null value and zero.

Advanced parameters:
1. Name of port: do not leave it with null value and repeat the existing name of port.
2. Description: describe the added port, the description information can be null value.
3. Scanning time: input any numbers, but null value and zero.
4. Timeout duration: input any numbers, but null value and zero.
5. Reconnection times: input any numbers, it can be zero but null value.
6. Recovery time: input any numbers, but null value and zero.
7. Read the timeout duration: input any numbers, but null value and zero.

1.1.4 Address inquiry

By using the address inquiry function, users can inquiry all available lower-computer equipments connecting to
monitoring computer. Click on “Address inquiry” button, the dialogue box for automatic search of equipment
address will pop out, as shown in Figure 14:

Display area for

prompt information

Figure 14 automatic search of equipment address (Not start searching)

 After clicking on “Search equipment”, the program will automatically search for equipment connecting to
monitoring computer, then computer starts searching the available equipments located at the address 1~256, as
shown in Figure 15:

Figure 15 Start searching equipment

If click on “Stop” button during search, program will stop the searching, and “Apply the address” button becomes
available, and it is allowed to apply the new address to the system, as shown in Figure 16:
 Figure 16 Stop searching equipment and apply the newly searched address

1.2 Interface information

Interface information toolbar is as shown in Figure 17:

Figure 17 System menu toolbar

(1) Alert information bar: similar to the “Navigation bar”, when system initially displays it, the button’s trigging
function is invalid. When alert bar information is closed, trigging function of “Alert bar” button is started, user
can click on the button, alert information bar will redisplay on the interface, and its trigging function disappears.
(2) Message box setting: user can automatically control the popping out of alert information box by the button.
Open message box: after clicking on “Open information box” button, button displays “Close message box”,
system will pop out a series of alert information prompt box at the lower right corner of desktop according
to the alert information, as shown in Figure18.
Close message box: after clicking on “Close information box” button, button displays “Open message box”,
system will cancel the popping out of alert information box on the desktop.
 Figure 18 Alert information box on desktop

1.3 Report information

Report information toolbar is as shown in Figure 19.

Figure 19 Report information toolbar

1.3.1 Data report information

Data report information is generated by the data information acquired over a specified time period. Click on “Data
report information” button to open the corresponding interface, as shown in the follow figure. Open the report
information window, click on Report Generation information setting to pop out a drop-down box, then user can
select the type of report: user-defined, daily report, monthly report, yearly report, and historical record report, as
shown in Figure 20 and 21.
 It is able to select the type of
data report information by
activating the area.

Figure 20 Data information report interface

Figure 21 Selection of the type of data information report

1. Setting the type of user-defined report: interface setting information is shown in Figure 22. After selecting and
inputting information, click on “Generate report” button to complete the report generation, as shown in Figure 23.

Select name of port and equipment, select signal (click on Confirm button in the drop-down box), select the
starting time and ending time (the ending time should be latter than the starting time).
Generate following statistics type of report: AVG、MAX and MIN;
Generate following time type of report: Year, Month, Day, Hour and Minute;
Interval value: fill in the number;
Name of report: generate the name of report information, which can be filled in by user.
 Figure 22 Setup diagram for data user-defined report

Figure 23 User-defined data report

2. Set the type of daily report: interface setting information is shown in Figure 24.
Select name of port and equipment, select signal, year, month, data and input the name of table of generated report,
set the information interface for daily report as shown in Figure 24:

Figure 24 Setting interface of daily data report

After selecting and inputting the corresponding parameters, click on “Generate report” button to generate the daily
report accordingly, as shown in Figure 25:

Figure 25 Daily data report generation interface

3. Set the type of daily report: interface setting information is shown in Figure 26.
Select name of port and equipment, select signal, year, month, data and input the name of table of generated report,
set the information interface for monthly report as shown in Figure 26:

Figure 26 Setting interface of monthly data report

After selecting and inputting the corresponding parameters, click on “Generate report” button to generate the
monthly report accordingly, as shown in Figure 27:
 Figure 27 Monthly data report generation interface

4. Set the type of yearly report: interface setting information is shown in Figure 28.
Select name of port and equipment, select signal, year, month, data and input the name of table of generated report,
set the information interface for yearly report as shown in Figure 28:

Figure 28 Setting interface of yearly data report

After selecting and inputting the corresponding parameters, click on “Generate report” button to generate the
yearly report accordingly, as shown in Figure 29:
 Figure 29 Yearly data report generation interface
5. Set the type of historical record
Interface setting information is shown in Figure 30.

Figure 30 Setting interface for historical record data information

Select name of port and equipment, select signal, the starting time and ending time as well as the name of report,
after inputting the corresponding parameters, click on “Generate report” button to complete the generation of
historical record report, as shown in Figure 31:
 Figure 31 Historical data record report diagram

1.3.2 Event report information

Event report information is generated by the event information acquired over a specified time period. Click on
“Event report information” button to open the corresponding interface, as shown in the Figure 32. Open the report
information window, and click on Report Generation information setting to pop out a drop-down box, then user
can select the type of report: historical event report for all equipments, historical event report for designated port
and the historical event report for for designated equipment, as shown in Figure 33.
 It is able to select the type of
event report information by
activating the area.

Figure 32 Event report information interface

Figure 33 Selection of the type of data information report

Type of historical event report:
Historical event report for all equipments includes the starting time, ending time and name of report, as shown in
Figure 34:

Figure 34 Setting interface for the historical event report for all equipments
After selecting and inputting the corresponding parameters, click on “Generate report” button to generate the
historical event report accordingly, as shown in Figure 35:
 Figure 35 Generation interface of the historical event report for all equipments
1.4 Quit the system
Click on “Quit the system” button to automatically close the operation program display interface, and quit the
system.

Section II. Help information module

Help information menu tool bar is shown in the following figure:

Operational manual for

application program

Figure 36 Help information module

 Chapter V. Alert information bar

Alert information bar displays the alert real-time information about port and equipment, including the occurrence
time of alarm, alarm source and alarm information, as shown in Figure 37.

Figure 37 Alert information bar

 Chapter VI. Main status display area
Main status display area displays the real-time data, real-time curve, history curve, historical data and historical
event of lower-computer equipment mainly in the form of diagram, table or curve (optional).

Section I. Real-time data

Real-time information includes the name of super-stratum port and equipment, digital signal and analog signal as
well as the communication status of equipment, in addition, it also includes the equipment control, system setting
information. Under default status, it will display AC data information, as shown in Figure 38.

1.1 AC information
In the real-time data page, the default display information is AC information, as shown in Figure 38:

System data

Figure 38 AC information about equipment

1.2 Real-time information

After selecting “Real-time information” in the real-time data page, user can check the real-time PV information,
the percentage of load and battery capacity, as shown in Figure 39:
 PV Information

Load information
Battery
information

Figure 39 Real-time information about equipment

1.3 Specified information

Click on Specified and manufacturer information in the real-time data page, user can check the relevant specified
information about equipment and manufacturer, as shown in Figure 40:
 Specified information about
equipment

Figure 40 Specified information about equipment and manufacturer

1.4 Fault condition

The real-time operation status, working mode and charge switch information will be displayed, as shown in Figure
41:
 Figure 41 Equipment fault condition

1.5 Equipment control

Click on “Equipment control” in the real-time data page, user can carry out relevant control over equipment in the
equipment control page, as shown in Figure 42:

Type of equipment control

command

Figure 42 Equipment information page

Click on the left mouse button to select a control command and then click on setting to pop out OK prompt box,
user can carry out direct control over the off-grid inverter, as shown in Figure 43:

Figure 43 Direct control over off-grid inverter

Function of each command:
1. Battery test 10s: carry out 10s battery test;
2. Battery low voltage test: carry out low voltage test for battery until low voltage is detected out;
3. Cancel the test command: cancel the battery test;
4. Cancel countdown shutdown: after setting the timing shutdown, it is able to cancel the command prior to
equipment shutdown;
5. Startup: control the startup of lower-computer equipment;
6. Shut down after an interval of N min: equipment will shut down after N min.

1.6 System setting

Click on “System setting” in the real-time data page, user can carry out relevant System setting for equipment in
the equipment control page, as shown in Figure 44:
 System information setting

Figure 44 System information setting

Meaning of each setting parameter:
1. Communication address of equipment: the only communication address for equipment to communicate with
monitoring computer;
2. Communication Baud rate: set the communication Baud rate;
3. Modbus protocol mode: set the mode of Modbus protocol;
4. Selection of check bit: set the communication check bit;
5. Stop bit: set the communication stop bit;
6. Date setting: set current date and event of system;
7. Clear the record data: clear the historical event data of lower-computer.

1.7 Display table

Click on “Display table” in the real-time data page, user can inquiry relevant equipment information in the form
of table, as shown in Figure 45:
 Figure 45 Display the real-time data of equipment in the form of table

Section II. Real-time curve information

Dynamically display the curve generated by the selected signal.
After selecting the signal to be observed in the “Select signal” drop-down box under the real-time curve page, user
can find the real-time curve information about the signal, such as in Figure 46, the real-time curve of AC output
voltage.

Figure 46 Display interface of real-time curve

Section III. Historical curve
Historical curve means the digital curve chart of the selected signal over a specified time period.
Select the signal in the historical curve page, define the starting and ending time, click on button “Check the
curve” to find the digital curve over a specified time period, such as in Figure 47, the digital curve of AC input
voltage over a specified time period.

Figure 47 Display interface of historical curve

Section IV. Historical data

It can display the historical data information about equipment over a specified time period in the form of list in the
historical data page, as shown in Figure 48.
 Figure 48 Display interface of historical data

Section V. Historical event

It can display the historical event information about equipment over a specified time period in the form of list in
the historical event page, as shown in Figure 49.
Figure 49 Display interface of historical event